| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Hostage crisis on, one terrorist gunned down |
| 2008-08-27 |
| New Delhi: At least five people including an Army officer have been killed in the ongoing gun battle between terrorists and the security forces in Jammu's Bantalab area. Two civilians have been injured and the terrorists - holed up in the Chinore residential locality in Bantalab - have taken six people, including four children hostage. One of the terrorists has been killed, police say. Jammu SSP Manohar Singh told CNN-IBN most residents have been safely evacuated but also confirmed the hostage situation. Police say a group of three to four terrorists, traveling in an auto rickshaw, entered the Mishriwala area on Tuesday and opened fire at a police barrier. They then entered the Chinore residential area in Bantalab and are still holed up there. The terrorists are believed to be from the same group that infiltrated into India from the International border at Kana Chak on Tuesday. CNN-IBN spoke with Billuram, owner of the house where terrorists are holed up. His family is being held hostage "The militants have entered my house. My four children and wife are inside. A boy from the neighbourhood may also be inside," he said. IANS reports: Police said the terrorists, dressed in battle fatigues and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, entered a house in Chinore and hid there. On their way to the house, they shot dead Shabit Hussain, a milkman, and the driver of the autorickshaw they were travelling in. "A high alert has been sounded in Jammu due to the infiltration by three terrorists from across the international border," Inspector General of Police (Jammu Zone) K. Rajendra said. The Border Security Force (BSF), along with police and army personnel, had launched a massive manhunt for the militants, who had entered the Indian territory at Kanachak, about 20 km north of here, after cutting the barbed wire fence. "This is a serious situation. The intruders sneaked into the Indian side under the cover of fire, which was most probably provided by the Pakistani Rangers," a BSF official said. The exchange of fire had lasted for nearly two hours until 2 a.m. Tuesday. Security agencies are worried in view of the situation in Jammu. People here have been holding rallies demanding the return of 40 hectares of government land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB). They plan a huge rally Wednesday at the Parade ground which can accommodate tens of thousands to give a momentum to their agitation, already in the 57th day on Tuesday. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #2 |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-08-27 17:11 |
| #1 Five killed in Jammu encounter; 4 hostages released Security forces have rescued three children and a woman, who were held hostage during a gunbattle in which three civilians, an army officer and a militant were killed on Wednesday in the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The militants, holed up in a house in Chinore on the outskirts of this city, took six civilians hostage on Wednesday morning. The police said they were trying to rescue the two remaining hostages before launching an assault on the militants. The police said three militants had crossed into Jammu and Kashmir from the Kanachak sector of the border with Pakistan on Tuesday morning. They were intercepted at the police check post of Chinore on Wednesday morning, around 20 km north from the centre of Jammu. The militants, dressed in police uniforms and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, shot dead a junior commissioned officer and then hijacked a three-wheeler. They then fired indiscriminately killing Shabeet Hussain, a milkman, and motorcyclist Naseeb Singh before killing the three-wheeler driver, Vijay Kumar, said the police. The guerrillas then entered a house in Chinore. Police and army personnel cordoned off the area and were engaged in a gunbattle with the militants. Once the remaining hostages were rescued, there would be a "final onslaught", said an army officer, which in military terms means blowing up the building with rocket launchers or explosives. "This (civilian hostages) is what is holding us up from launching final onslaught. We are ready for that," the army officer said. Army personnel have taken positions on roof tops of adjoining houses in densely populated Chinore, located on a hillock. Grenade explosions and gun shots were heard in the area as the one-storey building where the militants were hiding was perforated with bullet marks. "This is a serious situation. The intruders sneaked into the Indian side under the cover of fire, which was most probably provided by the Pakistani Rangers," a BSF official said. This is the second major gun battle in Jammu region in less than three and a half months. Six people were killed in Samba town, 40 km south west of Jammu May 11. According to defence sources, militants had infiltrated May 8 from across the international border in Samba sector before they surfaced May 11 morning and killed civilians and soldiers. Three militants were killed in that battle. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-08-27 07:11 |